ONE FINE DAY

One Fine Day

January 07, 2006|By Doug George

Even in the midst of winter, this is the most livable of metropolises. It's darn pretty, for one thing. Our public transportation system works. Snow removal is a City Hall pet project. Still, one wonders how the other half lives -- those who live in the city from whence this town acquired its "Second" status. We set out to live one fine New York day in Chicago.

MORNING

For breakfast, it ought to be bagels -- and no overfluffed doughballs masquerading as the real thing, thank you very much. (Although, if we really want to be New Yorkers, we probably need to stop saying things such as "thank you very much.") New York Bagel & Bialy (4714 W. Touhy Ave., 847-677-9388) serves up a local offering that transplanted Big Applites most often vote most authentic. Crusty outsides, warm and chewy centers. If you don't want to schlep yourself out to Lincolnwood, there's NYC Bagel (1001 W. North Ave., 312-274-1278).

Next, what would a visit to faux-York be without shopping? Head to Barneys New York (25 E. Oak St., 312-587-1700), that East Coast pinnacle of consumption -- three glittering floors on Chi-town's version of Madison Avenue.

AFTERNOON

Time for eats. Chicago has one approach to pizza, New York another. A recent article on the topic in At Play ("Ask At Play," Oct. 13) recommends the New York-style thin crust offering at Santullo's Eatery (1943 W. North Ave., 773-227-7960) in Wicker Park. Or in the suburbs there's Gigio's Pizzeria (1001 Davis St., Evanston, 847-328-0990).

Looking for winter fun? The Sears Tower Skydeck (233 S. Wacker Drive), hoists you to 1,353 feet, loftier than the Empire State Building Observatory's 1,050 feet. And the McCormick Tribune Plaza ice rink in Millennium Park gives Rockefeller Center its match. Rent skates for $7 or bring your own, the skating is free (312-742-1168 or www.millenniumpark.org for information). Skittering your way around the ice in the early dusk of a winter afternoon, taking in the skyline and lights on Michigan Avenue, it's hard to imagine wanting to be anywhere else.

EVENING

For dinner, lose the skating scarf and dress up for a big-city night out. Petterino's (150 N. Dearborn St., 312-422-0150) does a fair impersonation of the famed Sardi's in the New York theater district. From here, Chicago's own theater scene is the natural choice. "Wicked" at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts is a true Broadway experience -- or may we suggest finding a homegrown performance. There's Frank Galati's "After the Quake" at the Steppenwolf Theatre (1650 N. Halsted St., 312-335-1650, www.steppenwolf.org), for example. Sometimes, Chicago is no "second" at all.